By now, if you are a scientist who is not aware of the sitcom ‘Big Bang Theory‘ then you would be best buds with Sheldon Cooper because you are completely out of touch with reality (or you just need to get out of the lab more!) Sheldon Cooper…excuse me, Dr. Cooper…is a quirky theoretical physicist with the social skills of a toddler and a dominating character on the show, now in its sixth season on CBS.

But as I watch the show (on the verge of snorting laughter at the comical spoof of researchers), my mind sometimes wanders to the question—why is Sheldon Cooper so freakishly funny? Honestly, many opinions portrayed by Sheldon in the series are hugely stereotypical and just plain insulting to the science community, which weirdly doesn’t deter me from watching the show.

In my mind, Sheldon Cooper epitomizes everything that is wrong with mentoring in the sciences, wrapped up into one defined but awkward package. I think the ability to laugh at the faults of the system creates an opportunity for us in science to maintain an open dialogue on mentoring issues…after all, if the writers/producers of a TV show recognize the idiosyncrasies surrounding scientists then we also need to acknowledge and address these issues.

In case you are not familiar with the show or have forgotten all the gentle insults, here is a short list justifying why Sheldon Cooper should win the “world’s worst research mentor” award:

1. Sheldon frequently refers to the inferior intellectually ability of females and downplays the contributions of women in science.

The writers of The Big Bang Theory excel at consistently creating intelligent satirical comedy. Indeed, my wife and I loved the first season, but both thought surely the show would be dropped as it was too niche. How wrong we were (and glad for it).

To me it seems the show’s satire invites dialog not only with mentoring but in any area where assumption, prejudice, and cognitive bias are present. Humorous portrayal of shortcomings invites inspection, while (perhaps) diffusing the point a bit. Then again, perhaps this only occurs for those who are able to laugh at such antics, not only in others but themselves as well. Without such, benefit from dialogue seems doubtful.

@Pete-Thanks for the insight…yes, comedy may only open the door to dialogue if the parties involved can laugh at themselves—a quality I am sure that is not shared by Sheldon-ites, so maybe all is lost!